A woman’s parents are concerned about the time it’s taking for charges to be filed in their daughter’s rape in a Georgetown mansion, as the Washington Post first reported. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
The parents of a woman who says she was sexually assaulted at an exclusive Halloween party at a mansion in Georgetown are concerned about the time it's taking for charges to be filed against her attacker.
The victims' parents' reaction was first reported by the Washington Post.
The victim, a 21-year-old college student, was assaulted Oct. 29 at an invitation-only event at a home known as the Dodge Mansion on P Street NW. Private security officers checked in about 300 guests.
The victim told police a man sexually assaulted her by force in a second-floor room of the home, a police report says. The attacker used his hands and feet as weapons, the woman told police.
After NBC4 broke the story of the assault, her father said he asked his daughter if she'd heard anything about it. "And that's when she told me that it was her," he said, recalling the painful conversation.
No arrests have been made.
Stephanie Larimore and another woman told officers they tried to come to the victim's aid at the party. Larimore said she was pushed and thrown to the ground by the attacker.
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"I heard crying from upstairs. When I came in, I just went to the bathroom. She was laying on the ground. She said that she needed clothes," Larimore told News4. "I started talking to her. She was crying. And then he actually came into the bathroom while we were in there, grabbed my on my arms -- which I had two bruises from -- and took me and threw me on the ground."
The victim's mother said she's frustrated that talk of drinking and drug use at the party may be clouding what she believes is a clear-cut matter: a crime against her daughter.
"I don't care how much money they have. I don't care how much power they have," she told News4. "You need to speak up. This is what our country is about. Nobody's above the law."
Bill Dean, who owns the home, throws the annual bash. He has not been charged with any crime and is said to be cooperating with police. He was not the man named by the victim as her attacker.
In a statement to News4, the Metropolitan Police Department responded, "MPD has a legal and moral obligation to thoroughly investigate reports of sexual offenses and allegations to determine if a crime has been committed. Once it has been established a crime has occurred MPD must exhaust all efforts to identify the offender(s) and present the facts to the United States Attorney's Office."
